Dallas Halts Fake-Drug Prosecutions

Published 2:11 pm, Monday, April 25, 2016

After dozens of Dallas police investigations were called into question, prosecution has been halted in drug cases in which lab tests found little or no illegal substances, District Attorney Bill Hill said.

The exact number of suspended prosecutions was not released. As of last week, Hill's office had identified 24 police narcotics cases in which lab tests revealed fake drugs or only minute amounts of drugs.

Dallas Police Chief Terrell Bolton said Monday that police are re-examining 70 narcotics purchases initiated by a confidential informant after tests on the purported drugs in two dozen cases found little or no illegal material.

The district attorney's office learned in September that lab tests on some purported drugs did not confirm field tests made by Dallas police. The police department is conducting a public integrity investigation, Bolton said.

Hill said his office also will review drug cases filed since 1999 that involved evidence developed from the same informant.

"We want to know whether there is a pattern here that goes further back than September 2001, when my office first discovered some cases which involved fake drugs," Hill said in a statement.

The confidential informant has been paid at least $200,000 since 2000 for helping police make drug arrests, police said last week.

Many of the drug cases rely solely on the informant's testimony, according to court records. Those arrested have been mostly men with Hispanic surnames who do not have permanent citizenship, The Dallas Morning News said.

Hill said steps have been taken to avoid problems in the future.

"Drug cases of this nature are now being submitted by the police to the lab for immediate analysis as soon as the drugs are seized," he said.

Police Department records showed almost half of the cocaine and about one-fifth of the methamphetamines seized last year turned out not to be drugs.

Court records show that two people have pleaded guilty in cases where lab tests have raised questions about the drug seizures.